Saudi Customs has announced the completion of the first clearance procedure of its kind in an unprecedented timely manner, where a shipment arriving from Moldova via LogiPoint's bonded zone at Jeddah Islamic Port was cleared, transported by land transit, then re-exported by air cargo to its final destination through the Eastern province bonded zone at King Fahd International Airport. The entire procedure took 10 days less than usual to be completed. This accomplishment highlights the important role of the Saudi Logistics hub and the positive benefits its infrastructure provides. It is also expected to promote the hub's role in achieving more integration among the various entities working through it. The Saudi Logistics hub aims to facilitate import and export procedures in light of Saudi Vision 2030's goals to develop the Kingdom's investment plans making it an attractive business hub and enhance its global competitiveness through empowering its supply chain management capabilities, facilitating its trade activity, establishing world-class logistics centers, and offering comprehensive logistical services to clients. The bonded zones and bonded warehouses rules and regulations provide numerous benefits for foreign companies to invest in the Kingdom, most prominently, the ability to utilize bonded zone services without the need for a trade license in the Kingdom. The new regulations will allow the transport of goods between customs bonded zones in GCC countries without requiring any customs fees at the starting point. Moreover, owners of light industries will be able to benefit from several services offered with regards to collecting, packaging, labeling, mixing, embossing, and many more. Furthermore, for members of the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO), the new regulations will allow them to utilize the bonded zones for their national products without specifying the destination (i.e. without a manifest), in addition to providing businesses the ability to re-export through any other customs' ports. These AEO specified regulations are currently being discussed to include all businesses even non-AEO registered companies. These bonded zone regulations also highlight the offerings of Custom's single-window platform launched earlier in 2018 as part of its strategy to automate the clearance process to enhance and expedite shipment procedures. Additionally, Saudi Customs is contributing as a key partner towards the development of more bonded zones supported by the National Industrial Development and Logistics Program (NIDLIP). For this purpose, it has signed four MoUs with several partners, including King Salman Energy Park in cooperation with Taqa Development Company, where Customs will be responsible for fulfilling the terms and requirements of bonded zones inside the Park. The second and third MoUs were signed with the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu with the aim to develop bonded zones in each of Jazan industrial City and Ras Al-Kheir, while the fourth MoU was signed with Saudia Cargo to develop customs procedures at air cargo facilities within the Kingdom's international airports. Saudi Customs is reaffirming its commitment toward continuously developing its procedures and ensuring they are in line with the highest global standards on both technological and operational fronts. It is also dedicated to maintaining cooperation with all the relevant entities to ensure the utilization of Saudi Arabia's strategic location in connecting the world's continents. — SG
